U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground In Early Trading
After ending last Friday’s trading narrowly mixed, stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.1 percent.
Traders may look to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which has seen the major averages move higher for four straight weeks amid optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
Any selling pressure is likely to be relatively subdued, however, as traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some key economic data in the coming days.
The Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending may be in the spotlight, as it includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
Economists currently expect the report to show the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 3.1 percent in October from 3.4 percent in September. Core price growth is expected to slow to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent.
The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, may also attract attention along with remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Traders will be looking for additional clues about the outlook for interest rates, with optimism the Fed is done raising rates contributing to the recent strength on Wall Street.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on new home sales in the month of October. New home sales are expected to decrease to an annual rate or 725,000 in October after surging to a rate of 759,000 in September.
Stocks turned in a lackluster performance throughout the trading session on Friday, as many traders continued to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Despite the choppy trading, the Dow and the S&P 500 ended the day at their best closing levels in well over three months.
The major averages finished the session narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq edged down 15.00 points or 0.1 percent to 14,250.85, the S&P 500 crept up 2.72 points or 0.1 percent to 4,559.34 and the Dow rose 117.12 points or 0.3 percent to 35,390.15.
For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow jumped by 1.3 percent, while the S&P 500 advanced by 1.0 percent and the Nasdaq climbed by 0.9 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
The major European markets have also shown modest moves to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is just below the unchanged line, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.34 to $75.20 a barrel after tumbling $1.56 to $75.54 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after rising $10.20 to $2,003 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $12.30 to $2,105.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.71 yen versus the 149.44 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0949 compared to last Friday’s $1.0939.
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